Archive for the 'vegetables' Category

In a comment to our post of January 21 of this year, our good friend Lévana Kirschenbaum suggested that we discuss the different types of kale available on the American market. While it’s more easily found in autumn and winter, you can still find it even now.

The most commonly found is the Curly Kale sometimes known as Scottish Kale…

Kale, Curly Kale, or Scottish Kale

For a delightful vegetarian recipe made with this version of kale and a meat variation of it check out our Caldo Verde.

Another fairly common variety is Russian or Red Kale…

Russian or Red Kale

Red or Russian Kale has a softer texture, is slightly sweeter than Curly Kale and has a somewhat buttery taste. When used together with the more common variety it produces a nice color combination while adding a subtle sweetness to the dish.

For tomorrow’s breakfast I will use Red Kale to make this delicious sounding recipe which I just found (on Kalyn’s Kitchen…

Photo from: Kalyn’s Kitchen

The most delicious kind of kale, however is Tuscan Kale or Cavalo Nero…

Tuscan Kale or Cavalo Nero

Used mostly in Tuscan dishes, it’s hard to go back to any other kind of kale after savoring this tender and nicely flavored variety.

Kale is descended from the wild cabbages of southern Europe. It thrives in cold weather but grows successfully all over the world. The addition of some baby kale juice will spruce up any raw carrot juice drink. Kale is an excellent source of beta carotene and vitamin C; it is a good source of folate, calcium iron and potassium; it contains bioflavonoids and other substances that protect against cancer. It’s only known drawback is that it may produce gas in some people.

When you make a salad, a soup, a fritata, don’t forget to use kale for a superbly delicious and healthy addition.

One of my favorite summer appetizers, though I could make it at any time:

Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup Arborio rice

6 fresh basil leaves, torn

2 tbsp extra virgin oil, plus extra for oiling and drizzling

salt and pepper

Directions

Cut a slice of the stalk end of each tomato and set aside to use as lids. Scoop the pulp out of the tomatoes and chop.

Transfer to a large bowl, carefully so as to minimize any loss of tomato juices; add the garlic, rice and basil. Season with salt and pepper and stir in 1 tbsp of the oil. Cover and let stand – at room temperature – for one hour, for the rice to absorb the juices.

Stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture and transfer to an oiled baking pan. Top each tomato with the reserved lids and drizzle with remaining oil. Bake in a preheated 350 F. oven for 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the rice is cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If available (usually in gourmet fruit and vegetable stores, use Brandywine tomatoes which have a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, for more sweetness use Spanish Montserrat tomatoes which have low acidity, but any large tomato will do. Arborio rice kernels are high in starch, shorter and fatter than any other short grown rice. They are great for risotto because the extra starch lends the dish a perfect creamy texture.

Reader Kochava Amar, from Tel Aviv, emailed us the following recipe and photo; it’s her family’s favorite salad, she writes.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound carrots, peeled

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red chilli flakes

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley plus a few leaves to garnish

Freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange

4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

Using a hand grater or food processor (fitted with a grater blade), grate the carrots and turn into a large bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and fry for two minutes, or until the garlic starts to color. Add the salt, cumin, chilli flakes and sugar; stir to blend. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

Summer Vegetable Soup with Pesto

The soup itself is light on flavor-but serve bowls up with a dollup of the pesto on top and you’ll be amazed. You can add any vegetables you like-see what your garden has to offer.

Serves 6Ingredients

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves (freshly packed)

1-2 cloves garlic(1 tsp), crushed

2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1/2 tsp black pepper

5 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese

Soup

6 cups vegetable stock

1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced into thin strips

1 small carrot, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch

5-6 small new potatoes, skin on, cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch

1/4 lb button mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/4 cup green beans, tips cut off, then cut on diagonal into pieces

3-4 spears asparagus, cut on diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch half -circles

1 cup firmly packed spinach leaves (2 oz), cut into thin strips

FOR THE PESTO, place the basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Puree for 30 seconds and then scrape down the sides. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil and keep pureeing until you have a nice paste-don’t worry if it’s not liquified, you want to see a few small pieces of basil and garlic. Scrape this mixture into a bowl and mix in the Parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate.

For the soup, bring the stock to a boil in a covered pot over high heat. Add the onion, carrot, potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus and salt and pepper-reduce the heat and simmer gently for 7 minutes.

This past Shabbos we read Parshas Toldos, in it we have the episode of Eisov selling his first born rights to Yaakov for a pot of red lentils. We will never know what recipe Yaakov made but on scouring the web I found some delicious sounding variations of Red Lentil Soup, which I can’t wait to try:

In medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the drained lentils, onion, tomato, chile, ginger, garlic and enough water to cover. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Whisk the cooked lentils to release some of their starch and break them down further.

In small saute pan, warm the canola oil over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they are sizzling and spluttering. Stir in the turmeric and paprika. Pour the seasoned oil into the lentils (be prepared for a big sizzle). Stir to combine, add salt, to taste, and a small drizzle of honey. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with cilantro.

David Lebovitz, is one of my favorite food bloggers. the San Francisco Chronicle named him one of the Five Top Pastry Chefs in the Bay Area, he’s been featured in every major food publication and most of the big newspapers. In 1999 he left the US and moved to Paris to write books (he’s written six, so far) and enjoy great food. I quoted his blog before about something I grew up with in Uruguay, something which if one of my South American cousins wouldn’t have sent me from time to time (until I found the recipe!) would have turned me into a desperate junkie in search of a fix. Yes, gentle reader, I confess I am a hopeless Dulce de Leche addict.

Today as I scoured David Lebovitz‘ blog, which I do periodically, I found a great salad recipe(which I made some slight changes to so as to make it kosher):

Photo by: David Lebovitz

Chopped Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Garlic Dressing

Two servings

I guess I’m more French than I thought because I’m not a fan of very hard vegetables raw, like broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans. So if I use them, I blanch or steam the vegetables lightly, to make them a bit more palatable.